UPA’s almost isolated member

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Mamata Banerjee

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee appears to be a lost cause for most of the Congressmen. After being apparently isolated following her stand on the Presidential election, Congress leaders claim that the party has given up hope on her.

The party leaders admit that what they hope is that she does not cross over to the BJP-led NDA camp. “The Congress has no more hope of getting any support from her,” said a Cabinet minister, who also added that he, like other ministers, would pray that they do not have to meet her to get her on board on issues concerning their ministries. Now that Ms Banerjee has apparently floated few names for vice-presidential election, the Congress leaders claim that her isolation within the UPA is almost complete.

The Congress follows ‘unity in strategy’
It is a well-known fact that when Pranab Mukherjee was a part of the government there were sharp differences between him and Home Minister P Chidambaram. But ever since dada has joined the race for Raisina Hills, Chidam-abarm has emerged as one of his key political managers going all out to help plan his political strategy.
Political grapevine has it that Chidambaram was one of the key persons whom 10 Janpath had consulted while finalising dada’s name as UPA presidential nominee. In fact, even the draft read out by UPA chairperson nominating Mr Mukherjee was drafted by the Home Minister.
This just goes on to prove that though there might be differences on key issues but during crunch time Congressmen join hands to overcome any crisis.

Public money in private pocket
Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar was at the Yojna Bhawan, Delhi, recently to discuss state’s plan size with deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Sources said, during the discussion, Mr Ahluwalia did some pep talk to encourage the CM to take up infrastructure projects in a big way under the public private partnership (PPP) model. While listening Mr Ahluwalia carefully, Mr Parrikar intervened by saying that he had no problem in taking up the infrastructure projects in a big way, but there is a problem with the nomenclature of the present partnership model. He was learnt to have informed the plan panel that in his state, “PPP” means “Public money in Private Pocket”.

The Health Minister’s back problem
Officials in the health ministry are working over time after the Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad conveyed to them that he would not be able to travel to Shimla for the Central Supervisory Board (CSB) meeting, following his back problem. With the venue of the meeting shifted to Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi, the ministry officials are busy cancelling the arrangements made for Shimla and making the travel arrangements of the state health officials in Delhi. Mr Azad had earlier too cancelled his trip to London because of the same ailment.

Promotion with a burden
So who is going to become the next DG of CRPF when incumbent K Vijay Kumar retires this year? Grapevine says that super-active Vijay Kumar might get an extension. But there are others who are waiting in the wings such as PM Nair, who is already a special DG in the CRPF, and Arun Chaudary, an ex-IB official who is heading the airport sector as special DG in the CISF. While only time will tell who gets the job, the officer is bound to inherit the responsibility of the recent anti-naxal operations, especially the June 29 encounter in Chhattisgarh with suspected Maoists, where CRPF was engaged. The present DG has brushed aside any criticism that innocents may have also been killed in the encounter saying the troops had no option but to retaliate fire.